Today I am sharing with you the devotional thoughts my husband will be sharing with our nursing home ministry this week.
Heaven is Home
My wife Barbara and I have only been with you for a few months, but today we will be saying goodbye to you. We are moving to Florida the middle of next month. As I think about this move, there are good points and not so good points about it.
For the not so good points – it is expensive to move, and it involves a big change for us. The weather will certainly be much warmer and we will miss our mountain views very much. There will be a period of instability as we move from one home to another with a new layout. We have to get used to having things in different places. We will not be familiar with the territory. Finally, it takes time to move. Once we have made the decision to move, it seems to go slowly and we long to be done with the move.
For the good points – we will be much closer to two of our children and to all of our grandchildren. It will be less expensive to live there than it is here. We look forward to not having to shovel snow or drive our cars in it – I have already sold our snow blower and have given away our snow shovels. The snow last week at our home in Castle Rock was pretty heavy, but it fortunately melted without me having to clear the walks. Finally, we look forward to exploring the new sights in Florida. We are eager to make the place our new HOME, with all the thoughts that come with the word HOME.
So, what has all of that got to do with all of you dear people? Well, if you know Jesus as your savior as we know Him, we are all looking forward to having a new HOME – in heaven with Him. In John Chapter 14 [V1-3], Jesus said the following:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
As we think about heaven, will there be good and bad points about our move there? Let’s think on these things.
Well, we can’t pay money to get us into heaven, so you could say it is not expensive. Yet, when we give our lives to God, we give all that we have to Him – so it costs us everything to be allowed to move to heaven. We know that God will provide for all of our needs in heaven, so it will be much less expensive to live there. We will be provided with white robes to clothe our bodies. Our needs for whole and healthy bodies will be provided. Our needs to be with loved ones that we have not seen for a long time will be satisfied. God will ensure that we have no pain and no sorrow. There will be no tears. I can’t think of anything bad in these things.
There will be much to explore when we get to Heaven. We will see a new earth – restored to the faultless creation that God made in the beginning. In 1 Corinthians 2 the apostle Paul tells us the following:
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
In Heaven, we will meet people that we never knew, but we will share a common bond with them in Christ; our fellowship will be sweet and not contentious. Most of all, we will come to know our Lord and Savior as we have not known Him here. The apostle John tells us [1 John 3:2]:
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
I can’t think of anything bad in these things.
Finally, when it comes time to move to our new home, it will be quick! In fact, we will take one last breath in this home and will take the next one in our new home. In 2 Cor 5:6-8 Paul states:
“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
So, here is my parting thought for you. Are you ready for the move? Have you made arrangements with the heavenly mover? If not, please do so. If you don’t know how, ask one of us and we can help.
Goodbye and God bless you all!
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